Fly With You - TNS Season 7

chapter 5

Crushes are a waste of time. They're problematic, unnecessary, and distracting. Trust me, I know. I used to have a crush on Noah - can you IMAGINE - and it took a serious toll on my dance career. Duets were impossible. Even just being in the same room as him made it hard for me to focus.

And you can imagine what being in a relationship is like, in comparison. It's a hundred times more distracting. Time-consuming, too. All for someone who doesn't even care about you. Screw you, Elliot.

Professional life comes before personal. This was my number one rule, and I always followed it. So why should now be an exception?

I needed to find a way to get Lena out of my head, and fast. Before this... thing, turned into anything else. I couldn't have a crush on her. I couldn't.

What was even more confusing was that... she was a girl. And I suppose I'd never seen a girl in that way before. But, there was a first time for everything, right? And there was just something about Lena that... drew me in. I wasn't big on labels, especially not if they started to define me. I wanted to be known for being the best dancer this studio had ever seen. Oh, and dance captain. Nothing less, nothing more.

Anyway, it didn't matter if it was Noah or Elliot or Lena or God herself - crushes were a big no-no. Maybe I liked girls and guys. This wasn't the time to figure that out. I shouldn't be liking anyone at the moment, especially when the dance captain position would be picked soon. I needed to be more focused than ever.

All of this Lena stuff was cluttering my mind. Just put it out of your head, Richelle. I looked into the mirror of the locker room at the studio, and gave myself a confident nod and a smile. That's right. You've got this.

Dressed in my dance gear and ready for the first official day with the new A Troupe, I emerged from the locker room and made my way up to The Next Steep. Piper and Finn were sat at a table together, drinking juices and laughing about something, and over in the lounge area was Henry, Summer, Cleo, Jude... and Lena.

"Richelle!" Summer said, giving me a bright smile when she saw me. "Come sit down!"

I walked over, arranging my face into a smile. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Cleo was just telling us about her old studio," Henry said, gesturing for me to sit down on the sofa opposite him. He sat with Lena on one side and Summer on the other, and as I sat down I found myself next to Jude, who had Cleo on her left.

"Have you always gone to The Next Step?" Jude asked me.

"Ever since I could walk, pretty much. I was a gymnast originally, but Noah and I joined J Troupe together and we've been here ever since." The thought made me soften a little.

Cleo frowned. "Who's Noah?"

Jesus, these people. How could she even ask that?

Who's Noah? My best friend. My soulmate. The best dancer this studio has ever seen... and probably ever will. He's kind, and compassionate, and smart, and funny, and always willing to help people. He would still be dance captain... if he hadn't left us. If he hadn't left me.

"Oh, Noah used to be a dancer here," Summer said. "He was dance captain last year, and he won Regionals for us."

"Single-handedly," Henry added with a grin. "Seriously, Noah was a legend. Man, I miss him." He gave me a sympathetic look, which Cleo instantly intercepted.

"So you have some history with him, Richelle?" she prompted, with a devilish smile. Jude perked up a little, listening in to the gossip. I watched Lena tune in too, and her eyes found mine.